3.22.2005

Hockey Notes - [your name here] edition

There was no stopping the salary train. By 2003, the Red Wings' payroll would be seven times as much as in 1993, according to the salary database on Web site HockeyZonePlus. In that same period, payroll for Colorado would rise 7.5 times; Dallas, 6.5 times; and Philadelphia, St. Louis and Toronto, 6 times.

Moreover, the payroll gap widened between teams. In 1992-93, the gap between the highest payroll team (Pittsburgh Penguins, $15.2 million) and the lowest (San Jose and Tampa Bay, each $6.9 million) was about double, HockeyZonePlus figures show. In 2003-04, the gap between the highest (Detroit, $77.8 million) and lowest (Florida, $26.4 million) was triple.

The article quotes Hockeyzoneplus's NHL salary figures, which is cool. Although those numbers should be certified, and available on both the NHL and NHLPA websites.

- Kevin Dupont, a Hockey Hall of Fame writer for the Boston Globe, answers fan questions on replacement players, lockout funds, and which team is most in danger of folding after the loss of a season.

His most interesting answer was how to seed teams for a draft after the NHL took a year off. Average the point totals for the last 4 years, and use total victories to break any ties. Under that scenario, San Jose would draft 20th, with a total of 371 points in the last 4 seasons.

Columbus, Atlanta and Florida would have the top 3 selections, with Pittsburgh 4th. A lottery should still be involved for the top teams, any draft scenario where Pittsburgh does not get a shot at Sidney Crosby is flawed.

[Note] Great timing on this post. The entry draft may be cancelled as soon as Thursday.

- Dave Newhouse interviews Sharks President and CEO Greg Jamison. He talks about whether there will be hockey in the fall, the layoffs SVSE has made, and even who he thinks is at fault for the current stalemate. I agree with his comment that SJ Sharkie is the teams greatest ambassador right now, but Greg Jamison is a close second.

- Spector writes a column about replacement players. The NHLPA has some heavy lifting to do in order to get fans to oppose this.

- Scott Burnside has a few interesting notes on the WHA for ESPN. The May 20th tournament landed an arena in Vancouver, there is new interest from investors in Eastern Europe, and the WHA plans on expanding to Europe and Japan.

- The steroids microscope has swung towards the NHL. In an article on steriods in the San Jose Mercury last year, it was said that the NHL had no drug testing policy. Bob McKenzie says the league has a drug testing policy, if only there was a CBA agreement to put it in play. Jes Golbez and Hockeybird have a lot more.

- Another major columnist mentioned the NHL is "cooking its books" again over the weekend. Let me just make one small point. A formal audit is a legal process. Signing off on a falsified audit carries the very real possibility of jail time. A financial review is an informal process. I believe the Levitt and Moag reports were both reviews, as was the Phil Propper and Forturne NHL reports. It is time to see a formal independent audit, or a "joint audit committee" as suggested by Brian Burke on the day the season was cancelled.

The NHLPA did not take up repeated NHL offers to review the financial reviews up until the season was cancelled. But a month ago yesterday, Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk offered to open his books to the NHLPA. I am not sure if the NHLPA accepted or not.

Eventually, this is all going to come out. The owners have legitimate reasons to keep the financial health of their businesses private. A negative report could cause their franchise value to plummet. Players have a right to know how much is at stake. But if a complete 30 team audit was made, the resulting financial patchwork would clear up the direction the NHL needs to take for the next 10-20 years. The differences between lease arrangements, advertising, gate recepits, television/radio contracts, concessions, parking, and public money between the 30 teams will paint a true picture of the health of the league. And with the 24% rollback, and 49 million NHLPA salary cap offers, everyone is in agreement that the health is not good.

Please excuse my rant.

- Oakland A's outfielder Eric Byrnes was told by General Manager Billy Beane that he is staying. Finally. Rumors of a Byrnes trade to San Diego, Arizona, Pittsburgh and the New York Mets have been swirling around him daily for a few months.

For more on the tournament, visit www.ncaasports.com. You can find a complete list of all NCAA television broadcasts here. The Frozen Four semifinals will be aired April 7th on ESPN2 [2PM, 7PM], and the April 9th final will air at 7PM on ESPN.

Behind the Jersey thoroughly covers the CCHA tournament final [Michigan beat Ohio State 4-2], the NCAA tournament, and throws in a little Hobey Baker speculation for good measure. Who said there is a lack of hockey news without the NHL? Check the blogs.

INCH has wall-to-wall NCAA coverage on their website and on their Newsstand blog, but I have a small quibble with their power rankings. 1 through 15 should be Michigan, I have Cornell at 16, Denver at 17, Michigan at 18 and 19, and then Colorado College at 20.

Last Sunday Thetford Mines had a game against the Verdun Dragons. Gaetz didn’t have a shift all game and in between the second and third periods he was seen, without his jersey and without skates on, at a concession stand where he ordered a cheeseburger and promptly ate it. He returned to the bench for the third period.

I think I have found Gary Bettman's new labor relations liaison. A player who has registered 3,148 penalty minutes from 12 different hockey leagues adds a little heft to a CBA proposal deadline.

[Update3] Introducing the new NHLPA Goodwill Ambassador, Mr. Keanu Reeves. And now, a word from the Ambassador:

It's kind of weird. It's kinda like ... where did hockey go? I still play hockey, but my friends and I are like, where's the hockey?

Amen.

[Update4] Two meetings are scheduled Monday night 3/21/05, and Tuesday night 3/22/05 for the possibility of building a new ice arena in the South Bay. The first meeting (Time: MONDAY NIGHT, MARCH 21st 2005 at 6:00PM, Place: EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT, 3188 QUIMBY ROAD) will determine if the Evergreen school district will deed land to the Salvation Army for a community center that includes an ice rink. The second meeting at City Hall (Time: TUESDAY MARCH 22nd 2005 at 7:00PM, Place: SJ CITY HALL, 801 N. First Street) will debate which district needs this facility the most, and discuss public approval of land use.

3.19.2005

NHL Talks, a FAQ from CTV.ca

CTV.ca has posted an excellent NHL Talks FAQ on how the NHL and NHLPA arrived at their current position, a Mexican standoff. A standoff from which neither side will emerge unscathed.

One very crucial question was not answered by CTV, will fans come back?

Two issues that should be looked into further is the joint audit committee suggested by TSN's Brian Burke, and a review of past CBA proposals with everything the NHL and NHLPA agreed on highlighted.

It is also never too early to discuss ways of making the speed and action of watching an NHL game from the front row translate to a television broadcast.

Blue Ice? Sure. NHL rules changes? Give it a shot, except for the AHL trapezoid. Make any goalie who leaves the crease fair game. A solid NHL-TV partnership? This should have happened 10 years ago. Fox's glowing puck? No. No instigator rule? Yes. Remove the red line? Yes. Add 5 feet to all 4 sides of the rink? Yes. Ice Girls? Um, yes.

I will post more Monday because my 6 brothers [Salvador-Florida, Mark-Colorado, Chris-soon to be NY, John-Emeryville, Mike-LA, Soren-Berkeley] and 1 sister [Michelle-Seattle] are all getting together as a whole tonight for the second time ever.

[Update] The 2 offers made by the NHL this week are good for a limited time only. Act now NHLPA, and the NHL will throw in 2 extra hockey leagues for free!

We made another collective bargaining proposal today which offered the Union a choice of two approaches for moving forward. The first proposal was based on the 'de-linked' salary cap framework that was on the table when the season was cancelled in mid-February. We indicated that to the extent this was a framework that the Union remained interested in pursuing, the League would be prepared to continue negotiations -- provided an agreement could be achieved within the next several weeks.

Alternatively, we proposed a negotiated relationship between total Player Compensation and League-wide revenues, which we made clear was our preference. The Union deferred responding to our new proposal, pending internal discussions it intends to conduct over the next week. We will have no further comment at this time regarding the precise details of our proposal.

Bob Goodenow also released a statement on NHLPA.com after the meeting:

Last week, Gary asked me how to resume discussions for a new CBA. I told Gary to bring forward any proposal that he believed would be of interest to the players. Today, Gary gave us two salary cap proposals. Both proposals were very similar to ones that we previously rejected several times. We will be determining our next steps and responding at the appropriate time.

One was a de-linked proposal with a team salary cap of $37.5 million, five million dollars less than the league's last offer in February. The other was a linked proposal at 54 per cent of league revenues, whatever they may be. That represents a one per cent decline from previous linked proposals from the NHL to the NHLPA.

- The Deutscher Eishockey Liga [DEL] regular season has finished. Here is a very short preview of the playoff matchups for the preliminary rounds. I believe the postseason starts in Germany on Friday.

#1 Frankfurt Lions vs. #8 Hamburg Freezers

Patrick Lebeau leads Frankfurt into the postseason after capturing his second consecutive DEL scoring title. Improving on his 69 point performance last season, Lebeau scored 29 goals and 65 assists to lead the league with 94 points. Doug Weight provided 15 points in 7 games for Frankfurt, with 4 assists coming on the power play in a 4-1 win over Mannheim to finish the season.

Hamburg will need conributions from Brandon Reid [45GP,18G,29A,47PTS] and Jim Dowd [20GP,4G,9A,13PTS] to have a shot at knocking off the top seed. Craig Johnson is out with an injury and needs surgery. After losing five straight, Hamburg reeled off wins over Kolner [2-1], and a road win against last-place Kassel [4-2] to secure the final playoff spot.

#2 Berlin Eisbaren vs. #7 Augsburger Panther

Berlin was the favorite for the top seed, but they backed into the playoffs with a 7-2 loss to the DEG Metro Stars. Francois Methot [52GP,21G,24A,45PTS] and Shawn Carter [47GP,15G,26A,41PTS] will lead the Augsburger Panthers. I am going to email Augsburger fan and Sharkspage German correspondant Ecco for an update on the #7 seed.

#3 Nurnberg Ice Tigers vs. #6 Mannheim Adler

Mannheim is going to leverage two NHL goaltending talents to try to advance past the first round, Steven Passmore, [21GP,2.59GAA,91.59sv%,0SO] and Cristobal Huet [36GP,2.79GAA,91.51sv%,1SO]. Nurnberg finished the regular season with a 6-1 loss to Wolfsburg, and 5-4 shootout loss to the Kolner Haie.

#4 Kolner Haie vs. #5 ERC Ingolstadt Panthers

The NHL will also contribute heavily to Ingolstadt's chances up front, with Marco Sturm [44GP,22G,16A,38PTS], Andy McDonald, Jamie Langenbrunner [11GP,2G,2A,4PTS], and Aaron Ward all suiting up for the Panthers. Jimmy Waite also picked up goaltender of the year honors for Ingolstadt due to his regular season performance. Kolner hopped over Ingolstadt in the standingswith a 5-4 shootout win over Nurnberg to secure home ice.

Prohockey.de post a much more thorough breakdown of the playoff matchups. Yahoo Deutschland also has up to date scores, photos, and news. The articles can be found on Yahoo in english, but I can only find them by searching Google News.

- Ecco from Germany emails about the Sharks players and prospects performance in the DEL after the end of the regular season.

The regular season ended on sunday (13/03). Here are the Stats of "your" Sharks:

Hospelt is injured once again (shoulder). He will probably miss the playoffs. Playoffs will start on Friday. Kölner Haie vs. ERC Ingolstadt. Krefeld finished on 9th place and missed the playoffs.

- The Swedish Elite League postseason has already begun, and only 1 game remains to be played in the opening round. Timra IK [Kiprusoff, Zetterberg], and Djurgarden [Ekman, Theodore] are tied 3-3, with the final game scheduled tomorrow at 10AM PT.

Here are the first round results as best as I can dechiper them, with comments on the series from regular poster Peppe on the Sharks website. Here is the official SEL league website results page, the newest games are shown at the top.

#1 Frolunda Indians defeats #7 Lulea Hockey 4-0

"Frolunda, the heavy favourites going into the playoffs completely ran over Lulea in the first round, sweeping the series at four. Frolunda looks really solid all the way through the line-up and on top of that, they've got the best goalie of the entire playoffs in Henrik Lundqvist."

#8 Sodertalje SK defeats #2 Linkopings HC 1-4

"Scott Thornton has been a major factor so far and has been involved in much of the action. In game 2 he pounded Mikael Håkansson quite badly... Thornton has also been productive along with his linemate from Canada, Kyle Calder." Sodertalje won the fifth game of the series 2-1 to advance to the semifinals.

#4 Farjestads BK defeats #6 MODO Hockey 2-4

"Peter Forsberg returned last night after more than a month on the injury list, just to suffer a concussion from a cross-check to the head from fellow national team player, Peter Nordstrom. Other than that can be said that Zdeno Chara is probably the best defenceman in the world today, and is completely dominating the ice whenever he takes a shift. Tommy Salo is being outplayed by Martin Gerber and Farjstad's depth seems to be a little too much for MoDo to handle. A MoDo team where Markus Näslund has once again been invisible, as he often is when it means the most."

#3 Timra IK vs #5 Djurgarden Hockey [tied 3-3] next game tomorrow

"Djurgarden lost the first game to Timra, but since then Djurgarden has won three games and Nils Ekman has - followed closely by José Theodore, Daniel Rudslatt and Dan Boyle - been the key member in that turnaround. Miika Kiprusoff has played quite well for Timra but the truth is that Djurgarden's ability to constantly roll three good lines is taking its toll on Timra. A Timra team where the coach has to double-shift the quite fantastic Henrik Zetterberg, who is starting to show signs of fatigue."

Visit svt.se for a list of updated playoff stats from the SEL. Also take a look at this short Q&A I did last year about Timra IK with Timra's Joachim Sandstrom. Thanks again for the photo of Miikka Kiprusoff. You can visit Timra IK's official, or Djurgardens IF's official website by scrolling down to the right, under "Swedish Links".

- The Finnish Elite League has finished regular season play, and the SM-Liiga defending champion Karpat has finished well out in front with 121 points. The opening round started Saturday [3.12], results will be posted as I can find them.

Steve Kariya led Ilves and the SM-Liiga in total scoring for the regular season, with 24 goals and 35 assists for 59 total points. Saarela Pasi of Lukko led the league in scoring with 31 goals in 56 games played, and finished second overall in total points to Kariya.

Kapat finished atop the standings with 121 points and will have a week and a half to rest before resuming play in the quarterfinals.
The top six teams have a bye into the final eight, with Karpat and second-placed Jokerit of Helsinki awaiting the outcome of the first-round pairings between Ilves vs. Assat and JyP of Jyvaskyla vs. Tappara of Tampere to learn their quarterfinal opponents.

The best-of-three series between Ilves and Assat, and JyP and Jyvaskyla start Saturday [3.12].

The quarterfinals begin next week, with HPK against TPS of Turku and IFK of Helsinki playing Lukko of Rauma.

- A very good resource for European player and team news is the NHLPA Members in Europe section on NHLPA.com. The NHLPA game reports cover the start of the Finnish postseason, with notes on a current and former San Jose Shark:

Assat Pori 1 Ilves Tampere 4 (Ilves wins series 2 - 0)

Ilves Tampere will advance to the Quarter-final round after defeating Assat Pori Monday night by a score of 4 - 1. Ilves’ goaltender Vesa Toskala stopped 35 of 36 shots for his 2nd win of the post season while teammate Patrik Stefan continues to find the scoresheet recording one goal and two assists in the series clincher.

Tappara Tampere 1 JYP Jyvaskyla 0 (Series tied 1 - 1)

Tappara Tampere evened the best of three series on Monday by edging out visiting JYP Jyvaskyla 1 - 0. Tappara capitalized on a 5 minute powerplay when Ville Nieminen set up the game winning goal early in the 2nd period. Game 3 will go tomorrow night to determine who will face 1st place Karpat Oulu in the Quarters.

Visit www.vaasansport.fi, and click link "Videot" from left menubar. Some game footage is included as well.

Thanks again, Pasi

- I have received two emails about the Russian Playoffs [Superleague, Hi-League?], but unfortunately they are in Russian. I only know how to order vodka in Russian. Russianprospects.com covers both leagues, and offers detailed prospect reports on Russian players of course. Rushockey.com is also an excellent source for Russian hockey news in english.

- Visit this post for a previous ALIH update mailed in by hockey fans from Japan, Russia and Korea. 2/3rd of the updates came from Canadians.

- A very short list of links to collegiate conference tournaments will be posted on this bullet point shortly. Also take a look at INCH's college hockey tournament brackets, and USCHO.com for more college hockey news.

- 2005 Frozen Four championship information can be found on the official NCAA mens hockey website. The finals and semifinals this year will be held at Ohio State.

[Update] Video highlights from the SM-Liiga playoffs. Ilves also has video highlights from their home games on their website. Thanks Ipa.

[Update2] Video highlights from every day of the Swedish Elite League playoffs are available on http://svt.se. Click on the "Valj avdelning" dialog box on the right, select "Video Ishockey", and then a window will pop up with all of the video segments. Look for the team names in the SEL playoff matchup post above, and select that video for game highlights.

[Note] Thanks to the couple of fans who kicked in a couple of donations last week. Much appreciated. There might be another Fresno game or two covered here, plus another youth hockey tournament before a long summer of CBA minutae begins anew.

SCHEDULE (all series are best-of-5, 2-2-1)
Game 1 : Friday, March 18th
Game 2 : Saturday, March 19th
Game 3 : Monday, March 21st
Game 4 : Tuesday, March 22nd (if necessary)
Game 5 : Thursday, March 24th (if necessary)

For $9, you can watch the games online via russiantvonline.com. I will try to post the schedule online as I get it, but it may take a day or two to sign up for their service. They accept major credit cards with paypal.

[Update5] AK Bars Kazan has a video highlight section online. You are on your own with that link. Lada Togliatti also has video highlights online. Videos of Evgeni Nabokov might be available from that site when they play LT at home in the first round.

[Update6] An email from Anders Nillson of the the Swedish Elite League on the SEL semifinal dates:

3.14.2005

Spiders drop 2 games to Chicago and Lubbock over the weekend

[SUNDAY] LUBBOCK HAWKS 97 - SJ SPIDERS 87

Both of San Jose's NWBL all-stars, Natalie Nakase and Erica Glover, fouled out of Sunday's Spiders game against the Lubbock Hawks with 2 minutes remaining. Lubbock was strong at the free throw line, shooting 83.9% for 26 points on 31 attempts, and picked up the 97-87 win as a result.

SAN JOSE CA, March 12, 2005- The SAN JOSE SPIDERS lost a close game to
the slumping CHICAGO BLAZE last night at DeAnza College. It was a
sloppy game that came down to the wire as a last second shot by Erica
Glover rimmed out and the visitors escaped with the victory, 55-57.

The SPIDERS came out and looked to attack as there typically strong
defensive effort created numerous transition opportunities for easy
baskets. Barbie Carmeachal and Erica Glover were particularly
effective as each had three quick baskets in the opening ten minutes
of the first half.

At the 6:00 minute mark of the first half things began to get ugly.
Neither team seemed to be able to put together any type of offense and
at the half San Jose found themselves clinging to a 31 to 30 advantage
after going scoreless for the rest of the half.

The second half was much the same as the SPIDERS could only muster up
24 points on 20 percent shooting. Glover was the only SPIDER in double
figures, she finished with 15 points.

Neither team played well, as the BLAZE committed 13 traveling
violations to help bolster their 24 turnovers. Keisha Anderson was the
lone bright spot for the BLAZE as her ball control and penetration was
too much for San Jose to overcome, Anderson finished with 18 points.

Saturday the Spiders face off against the Dallas Fury and their twin towers, Cheryl Ford and Lello Gebisa.

[Update2] Sheryl Swoopes also will be a panelist for an ESPNU Town Hall forum airing March 16th on "If college athletes deserve to be paid". Also note this quote from Swoopes on womens college basketball from the Chicago Tribune:

WNBA star Sheryl Swoopes, however, pointed out that at Texas Tech, her alma mater, the women's basketball team often outdraws the men.

3.11.2005

NHL and NHLPA meet in Toronto to resume CBA negotiations

Instead of starting where they left off in February, rumors out of Toronto are that the NHL and NHLPA could be starting negotiations from scratch. Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow met in clandestine location [an airport hotel] for 90 minutes this afternoon. In what could be considered a good sign, no "its his fault" statements were made to the press by either negotiator afterwards.

TORONTO (March 11, 2005): Representatives of the NHLPA and NHL met for approximately 1 and a half hours today in Toronto. The NHLPA was represented by Bob Goodenow, Executive Director, Ted Saskin, Senior Director, Ian Pulver, Associate Counsel and outside Counsel John McCambridge. The League was represented by Gary Bettman, Bill Daly, David Zimmerman and Bob Batterman.

At the conclusion of today's meeting, NHLPA Executive Director Bob Goodenow released the following statement:

"Gary and I engaged in general discussions today and we plan to meet again next week for further dialogue. There were no proposals exchanged today."

Another option not noted by TSN, sell the entire 30 franchise league to Bain Capital Partners and Game Plan. The original offer of $3.5 billion US did not go over well with ownership, but it was recently reported that the offer could go higher.

At the end of the day, we think what fans of the NHL want to see are the very best players playing NHL hockey. To do that, we're going to have to get a collectively bargained agreement. What steps players may take in the interim and what steps owners may take, really those are interim steps and decisions, each having their own consequences. I'm not going to speculate further on that.

NHL executive VP and chief legal officer Bill Daly:

Like Gary (Bettman) said, right now it's our intention to have a 2005-06 season, but our priority is to have that with NHL players. That's going to continue to be our focus going forward.

It seems like they're starting at square one... I hope we can get on some sort of same page or some sort of talking terms where they say 'OK, we're inching our way ahead here, let's meet again next Monday,' If you expect these guys to come out with a deal tomorrow, that's not going to happen. I hope it does, but it's going to be tough.

3.09.2005

WHA to begin May 20th with the Bobby Hull Invitational Tournament

The latest iteration of the World Hockey Association will begin May 20th according to worldhockeyassociation.net. The league was originally scheduled to begin play in January, but prospects for a season fell through with team ownership and venue questions.

The new WHA still has Bobby Hull as a commissioner, and now includes Phil Esposito as the tournament chairman for a 6 team Bobby Hull Invitational Tournament. A preliminary list of teams, tournament dates, and rules changes is available here.

Judging by the fan area on the WHA website, they have the right people in place to appeal to hockey fans. They are polling fans on proposed rules changes, including blogs and forums early in their development efforts, and also including media contacts for fans to request more coverage.

Jason Kay, editor of The Hockey News, writes about the WHA getting ahead of itself earlier this year.

The question of the WHA's legitimacy and concerns about their financial wherewithal have merit. After a false start under different leadership last September and Smith's subsequent purchase of the league, the 47-year-old said in November the WHA would be up-and-running by the end of January. That never transpired, Smith says, because his plans were over-ambitious for the time allotted.

[Crosby Update] In a potential boon for the WHA, news out of Canada reports that teen phenom Sidney Crosby will consider playing in the new WHA, but not consider playing as a replacement player in the NHL. Crosby will also likely be a fixture on Team Canada's World Championship squad.

Crosby, recently named QMJHL offensive player of the week for the 2nd week in a row, has helped propel Rimouski Oceanic to first place with a 23 game unbeaten streak [19 straight wins]. Rimouski is a strong contender for the Memorial Cup.

[Crosby Update3] Now it is all Crosby coverage, all the time. TSN has two video reports up now on Sidney Crosby, a question and answer session with Gord Miller, and a top 10 Crosby highlight countdown.

3.07.2005

Stockton Hockey press release on the contest to name the team

From Stockton Hockey:

February 28, 2005

Hockey Team Name Contest Nears 2,000 Entries

With just one day remaining in the contest to name Stockton’s new hockey franchise, the Stockton Hockey Franchise Group announced today that 1,953 entries have been received to date in the "Name the Team Contest".

The contest began in the Stockton Record on Monday, February 14th. Fans were encouraged to send in their entries via the contest form in The Record, through the Internet or simply by calling in their suggestions to the team’s office.

"The response has been phenomenal," said Team President Dan Chapman. "This, combined with the tremendous response we have received in season ticket sales, indicates Stockton is a perfect market for professional hockey."

Included in the nearly 2,000 entries were 90 from a group of middle school students at Hamilton Middle School. Mr. Paul Sporleder, from the Hamilton Middle School Social Studies Department, encouraged his students to participate in the contest. Some of the nicknames suggested by the students at Hamilton included The Unstoppable Ice Skaters, Stockton Hitterz, Stockton Polar Bears, Stockton Killer Jaguars, and even one student suggested naming the team after their teacher calling them the Stockton Sporleders.

The "Name the Team Contest" concludes on March 1st, with the team name and contest winners being announced later in the month of March. The first grand prize winner will receive a team jersey and two (2) season tickets for the 2005-06 season. Five other “first prizes” will be awarded along with 10 "second prizes".

For information about the "Name the Team Contest" you can call the Stockton Hockey Franchise Group at (209) 948-3322 or visit their website at stocktonprohockey.com.

Season Tickets Near 1,200

Season tickets for the new Stockton Hockey team continue to be a hot commodity, as the team reported the selling of 1,167 season tickets since their kick-off date of February 5th.

The hockey team began official ticket sales on February 5th at the Bob Hope Theater. On that day alone, the team sold 657 full season ticket packages. That, combined with 260 corporate suite tickets previously sold, raised the first day total to 917. In the following three weeks, the team has sold an additional 250 tickets, raising their total to 1,167.

"We continue to be very pleased with the response of professional hockey coming to Stockton," Chapman said. "There is a great deal of enthusiasm not only in Stockton and San Joaquin County, but throughout Northern California."

The team reports that season ticket buyers have come from the counties of Santa Clara, Alameda, Sacramento, Calaveras and Stanislaus.

For more information on season tickets, contact the team at 209-948-3322. For more information on the ECHL, visit ECHL.com. Scroll down to the right of this website for team and news links from the ECHL.

Visit stocktongov.com for illustrations of the future Stockton Waterfront Arena, and a live webcam to see the progress of the construction.

Michigan State defeated Oakland University 4-3 Saturday to win the 2005 ACHA D2 Championship. Ryan Fix scored the OT game winner to put the green Spartans on top. Oakland put 42 shots on goal, including 8 in the OT period. Michigan State had 38 shots on goal.

Sharks lay off 12 employees, 3 more leave voluntarily

With 13 layoffs in June, followed by attrition and the latest round of cutbacks, the Sharks' payroll has been reduced over the last nine months by 21 percent from approximately 165 employees to a current staff of 131.

Jamison expects to rehire when hockey returns, which the NHL says will happen one way or another in time for the scheduled start of the 2005-06 season in the fall.

3.04.2005

Predators Den blogger Jason Kirk wrote a letter to the owner of the Nashville Predators when canceling his season tickets earlier this year.

While expressing his serious problems with Gary Bettman's negotiating strategy, and a lack of concern for how a new agreement will benefit fans, Jason also mentioned the disappointment of not building on Nashville's 2004 playoff run.

A partial quote from Jason Kirk's original letter to Craig Leipold:

Mr. Leipold, I was asked from the beginning to trust you that Mr. Bettman's system would be implemented and result in a better situation for me. I was never given an explanation of how a salary cap greater than the current team payroll would result in lower ticket prices for me. In the place of rational explanation was league propaganda demonizing the players. In the end, of course, what I got was absolutely nothing - which was exactly 82 regular-season games of hockey less than the old, broken system would have gotten me. That's a funny way to fix a system. I hope that you and your fellow franchise owners will wise up and toss Mr. Bettman out the door, hire someone who knows the game (and the art of negotiation), and get to work putting players on the GEC ice again.

I sincerely hope that the Predators can continue as a viable business in Nashville. I believe the market for a hockey team exists here, as I'm sure you do; however, it's now a market without my $1200.

Thank you for taking the time to explain the cancellation of your season tickets and to express your feelings regarding the current National Hockey League labor situation. This is an extremely emotional and frustrating time for everyone involved in the game, including owners, players, and most importantly, fans.
I read your insightful testimonial with mixed emotions. On one hand, it is clearly disappointing that we will be losing your business. It doesn't make it any more palatable, but we (both the Nashville Predators and the NHL) knew going into September 15 that there would be fans such as yourself that, for any number of reasons, would choose to reassess their relationship with our product.

At the same time, I take great pride in reading about the passion with which you have followed the Nashville Predators. Your story is a testament to the six seasons of hard work from our front office, hockey department, coaching staff and players. I have always been an avid sports fan and can identify with the emotion and fervor with which you have followed our team. It's that passion that first got me thinking about owning the Predators!

As your referenced in our letter, I have asked you and the rest of our fans to trust that a cost certainty system would be implemented. The owners' goal in this process, and the challenge facing NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, is to fix the broken system hat we have been operating under so that our 30 markets have the ability t have healthy, thriving businesses. Quite simply, after 10 years under the previous CB, we have to have a system in which our players receive a fair amount based on what we are capable to pay them, rather than an inherently inflationary system where we are penalized by the actions of others.

As one of the 30 owners in the NHL, I certainly recognize that the responsibility of this situation falls squarely on our shoulders. It was never our desire to cancel the 2004-05 season, but no positive purpose would have been served to play even a portion of the season without significantly addressing the systemic problems that have existed. We recognize the gravity of the situation, as the NHL has become the first major pro sport to lose an entire season to a labor dispute. We truly believe, however, that this pain that the industry and our fans are currently enduring will be worth it when we introduce a new system and a new product.

As a Nashville Predators fan, why will cost certainty result in a better situation for you? This situation is all about hockey markets like Nashville. The Commissioner has worked tirelessly with the interest of creating a system where all 30 teams can be successful on the ie and within the marketplace. A cost-certainty system will eliminate situations like we faced last Spring, when we went up against a playoff opponent whose payroll was close to four times what ours was. With cost certainty and revenue sharing, we talk about competing on a more level playing field - imagine what David Poile could do if he had the same tools at his disposal as a number of his peers around the NHL! Especially considering the young and exciting talent base that we already have in place. We want system where Nashville Predators fans can enter each season with a realistic expectation of making the playoffs and making a run at the Stanley Cup.

Besides a more competitive product on the ice at the Gaylord Entertainment Center, the NHL is committed to rebuilding the game with the fan in mind. As frustrating as this work stoppage has been, we have an opportunity to start from scratch in many ways. I promise you that when we do get back to the ice, the NHL and its players will introduce a new and exciting product that will mix the speed, skill and heart that you know an love with innovations designed to deliver a more entertaining experience - both at the arena and on TV. And Jason, when I say that the product will be re-launched with the fan in mind, that applies to the cost of the experience as well.

No one begrudges the players everything that they have earned. We have the best, hardest-working, most personable athletes in the world. They have profited very well under a system that doesn't work for the long-term health of the industry, and now we need to change that system. It's time for the owners and players to work together as partners to grow the game and the industry.

I continue to offer my sincerest apologies for this situation. Hopefully, this note has persuaded you to stick with us, but if not, I understand. Just give us a chance when we get back - you won't regret it.

Sincerely,
Craig Leipold
Owner

The more I read headlines saying no one cares about the NHL, the more people speak up on the internet and make me believe otherwise. After seeing mite hockey over the weekend, where players were as wide as they are tall, I am confident the game will come back. And the NHL will be better. The optimist in me dies hard.

As to whether or not Jason Kirk should buy a Nashville Predators season ticket again, he should not. Credential him, give him full access to report on his blog, and the Predators will gain much more than they lost.

On another note, teamtootoo.com follows the exploits of one of the players that made me stand up and take notice of Nashville last season. Jordin Tootoo is the definition of a player you hate on the opposing team, but love to have when he is on your own.

Tootoo has 6 goals, 8 assists, 220 PIM in 46 games played for the Milwaukee Admirals [AHL] this season. Former Sharks prospect Seamus Kotyk has a 8-5 record [17GP, 2.93GAA, .891sv%] after being called up from the UHL by Milwaukee.

A new video public service announcement and a message from the NHLFA

The National Hockey League Fans Association released a video PSA this week in conjunction with David Daga and Spy Films.

This letter was sent to the 26,912 NHLFA members.

The 2004-05 NHL hockey season has been lost, but our advocacy efforts on
behalf of NHLFA Members are in full swing.

In the past few weeks, we have conducted numerous media interviews to voice
our collective displeasure with the CBA negotiations. In the coming weeks,
we will solicit your opinions on matters related to the return of NHL
hockey.

We are very pleased to announce the release of a 30 second public service
announcement (PSA) that is being circulated to the media today. Hopefully,
television stations will broadcast the spot and more fans will join our
ranks. The PSA was created (gratis to the NHLFA) by a group of hockey fans
from Toronto, led by David Daga. Spy Films of Toronto also donated
production time. We encourage you to view the commercial by visiting
www.nhlfa.com/psa and to consider sending the link to as many of your friends and colleagues as possible.

The commercial depicts a lone man in a
hockey arena walking on the ice. When he gets to centre ice, he bends to
one knee and begins chipping at the blue circle with an ice pick. We watch
as he uncovers what he came for. He steels the loonie buried beneath ice -
a tradition Canadians began at the Salt Lake Winter Olympics. The title
card asks the viewer: "When did hockey come to this?"

We are in the process of building a better back-end structure for our Web
site. The new site will allow us to more easily and economically distribute
news and polls to our Members. It will have an improved bulletin board and
secure, self-management tool for each Member’s profile. Stay tuned...

We are less than 100 people shy of the 27,000 mark. Please encourage your
friends to join the NHLFA today.

Sincerely,
Jim Boone
&
Jim Spendlove

Also take a look at this Nike commercial at the start of the lockout, A Dark Day.

ACHA Tournament update - SJSU vs Miami

3-0 Miami with 3:02 left in the second period at day 3 of the ACHA D2 National Tournament. Miami scored their first two goals on a power play and shorthanded. Ryan "J" Lowe is in net for San Jose State.

Sean Scarbrough scores a power play goal, making the score 3-1 Miami. 10 minutes left in the third period.

ACHA Tournament update - SJSU vs Michigan State

6 minutes to go in the second period, Michigan State vs SJSU on the second day of the ACHA D2 National Tournament in Michigan. Michigan State just scored to make it 6-1. An SJSU goal was called off less than a minute earlier with the net off the moorings.

MSU came out blazing with 3 goals in the first 3 minutes of the game. Ryan "Glovezilla" Lowe is keeping the score reasonably close in the second period with a number of glove saves for SJSU.

FYI for the announcer, both team mascots are the Spartans. So "the Spartans move the puck out of their zone" is absolutely no help. And you do not have to mention that San Jose is keeping the goaltender in net after MSU scores, their second goaltender Joe Best is injured.

The radio broadcast of the game can be found here. Don Hoekwater put photos online of the 5-4 SJSU OT win over Penn State yesterday.

[Update] MSU scores again with less than a minute left in the 2nd, 7-1.

[Update2] The last I heard was 11-1 MSU with a few minutes left. I will post the final score here when it comes in. Final Score: Michigan State 12, San Jose State 1, Box Score. Penalties were 9-4 in favor of MSU.

[Update3] From SJSU captain #4 Ray Kellam:

We got dominated. We're going to go out tommorow and bust our tails off and try and beat Miami... I can at least say this. MSU is going to be feeling the effects tomorrow. Barney was throwin bombs, wooo hits left and right. Whiteside was punishing people. The Dekeryrel line was smashing heads. I caught one Spartan with his head down and layed one of the hardest hits I've ever delivered. MSU is an awesome team. Like nothing we've played against. Fast, smart, strong technically sound. Tough pill to swallow.

[Update4] The latest John Buccigross article is up: Why no CBA? It's not rocket science. I can not count on one hand the number of times I have seen this on a bumper sticker coming from NASA or Lockeed Martin; "Why yes, I am a rocket scientist". It is still funny.

3.02.2005

No NHL Notes - Sharks edition

- San Jose State won their first game in the ACHA D2 National tournament, 5-4 in OT over Penn State. Early reports have Kellam, Dekeryl, King and Spain scoring in regulation, with #4 Ray Kellam getting the game winner on a broken play in OT.

PSU had 48 shots on goal, SJSU 28 [6-3 in OT]. Ryan Lowe made 44 saves in net, and should start the rest of the tournament because of an injury to SJSU goaltender Joe Best.

[Update2] A game recap from #4 Ray Kellam, without proper praise of the 44 save performance by goaltender Ryan "like wall" Lowe:

PSU game re-cap

Well since everyone has probably heard the radio, I'll make this short and sweet. 7 or so mins into the game, I scraped a Ricci goal out from under neath the PSU tender off a Nave shot that was not controlled. Next in similar fashion, Dekeyrel poped in a rebound off a Kelly Spain shot into an uncontested net. Spartans head to the locker room up 2-0.

PSU gets a goal around half way into the 2nd. Period ends 2-1.

PSU strikes again on a nice tic tac PP goal. SJSU answers back quickly with a blazing slapshot from Jon King from the top of the right circles, upper left corner. Moments later another rebound goal slid in by Kelly Spain off a shot. I dunno who shot it. Too busy hoping around on the bench like a monkey in a astro jump tent. PSU answers back with 2 quick ones of their own, about 4 mins apart. Overtime.

Nave steals a PSU pass in our zone and scoots down the ice 3 on 2 with Scarbrough and Kellam. Mason cuts to the middle with the puck and I took his lane on the right. He shoots from the mid slot. Left kicker save, puck bounces to me, I bat and connect, ballgame, dogpile at center.

PSU was good. Great game. SJSU dominated 1st period and OT. PSU wins 2nd and third periods. (Judgement based on momentum and shots.) SJSU out hit PSU in my opinon. Michigan State tomorrow at 12:30pm. Tough tough tough team. We watched them tonight. Fast, mean and smart. Shold be a war to remember. Thanks for all the support back home. Cheers.

[Update3] The audio clip of the game winning OT goal can be found here [right click to save], and a few pictures of SJSU vs Penn State can be found here courtesy of Iceberg Pix.

Team captain Ray Kellam scored with less than five-minutes remaining in overtime to give the San Jose State Spartans a 5-4 overtime win over Penn State in the opening round of the ACHA Division II National Tournament at Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Mich. The Spartans relinquished two separate two-goal leads, but managed to take the game.

Penn State came into the game as the No.2 ranked team in the Northeast Division, San Jose is No. 3 in the west and go up against No. 1 Central Division Michigan State tomorrow.

An audio archive of the game, and future broadcasts, are available on hockeysportsradio.com. Also visit the official ACHA D2 Tournament website for more information.

- The 2005 Mavericks Big Wave Surfing Competition is finally taking place today, after months of waiting on stand-by for proper surf conditions. Prior to the contest, my people in Half Moon Bay estimated the waves would be between 20-30 feet. Surfline is predicting this morning 10-15 feet, with the occasional 18 foot swell.

There is a paid streamcast of the tournament available on the official site, and a free still webcam available from Surfline. NBC will rebroadcast the event April 24, 2005 at 1pm PT.

- The official Sharks website reports that 4 of the San Jose Jr Shark teams played at the CAHA State Championships at Logitech Ice over the weekend. The 18 AAA team came one game away from a state championship. The 12AA, 14AA, and 16AAA Jr Shark teams also competed in the CAHA tournament. Visit sjjrsharks.com for more information.

More championship youth hockey is coming to Logitech Ice. The first tournament is the Northern California A and B level championships from April 1-3. These winners will advance to the CAHA A and B level championships the following weekend, April 8-10.

SF SABERCATS 2 - SJ JR SHARKS 1

- Not a part of the CAHA tournament, the San Jose Jr Sharks peewee B team lost to the San Francisco Sabercats 2-1 late in a Sunday game at Logitech. The Sabercats goalie was nails, and there were several big checks along the boards.

Be careful if you are near the bench during a peewee game. The heavily padded players do not hop over the boards, they skate hard, point themselves towards the top, and then let gravity take over.

- The Santa Clara squirt B Blackhawks have 3 remaining games on the season, and look good to make the playoffs.

More than 50 NHL players competed in the 12-team league, including Colorado's Peter Forsberg and Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg. The NHL canceled its season last month.

Zetterberg was the league's top scorer with 50 points in 50 games  19 goals and 31 assists. The top goal scorers with 26 each were Linkoping's Mike Knuble of the Boston Bruins and Modo's Mattias Weinhandl of the New York Islanders. Henrik Lundqvist of first-place Frolunda was the best goalie, with a 93.55 save percentage.

The regular season ended Tuesday, and the best-of-seven quarterfinals start Friday. The playoffs are expected to last until mid-April.

- This comes from a press release from Asia League Ice Hockey Headquarters:

The play-off of the Asia League Ice Hockey will start on March 12 (Sat). The precise schedule is as follow.

Visit the official Asia League Ice Hockey website, or take a look at this Sharkspage post with notes sent in from fans that attended ALIH games this year.

- Not at all hockey related, but I might be a photographer for this in the next few months.

- There are 4 more San Jose Stealth home games left this season: 3/12 Arizona, 3/19 Calgary, 3/25 Anaheim, and 4/9 Rochester. Gary Rosyski, Jim Moss, Anthony Cosmo and Ryan Boyle all represented the Stealth in the Western Division at the NLL allstar game in Calgary. The East scored a goal to win in overtime. Visit sjstealth.com for more information.

- Nate from Insidecollegehockey.com sends in this link to upcoming college hockey tournaments and regional championships. Links to many of those events will go up on the hockey calendar to the right in a few days. Now if only I could find a similar list of tournaments and championships for amateur and college hockey in Canada.

- Saturday, the San Jose Spiders NWBL basketball team sent the Colorado chill to the freezer with a 72-69 win. SJ forward Amisha Carter finished with a game high 22 points and also picked up 13 rebounds. The Spiders have back-to-back home games against Chicago and Lubbock March 12th and 13th. Visit http://www.nwbl.com/spiders for more information.

- If you missed it last weekend, it was the annual "Shark Days" event at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. A few lucky families won a behind the scenes viewing of the feeding of the only Great White Shark held in captivity. Rumors that Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow would be fed to the shark turned out to be false.